So my two friends are now engaged and asked me to marry them. I agreed and now need to make sure everything is legal. Has anyone had luck (good, bad, or otherwise) ordaining a marriage in Indiana (Brown County)? PS, yes I am a FSM Ordained.

Your best bet would be to check with the local municipal offices, methinks. Good luck.

"Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens."("Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.")-- Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805)Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-- Philip K DickWhat happens when all the renewable energy runs out?-- Victoria AylingEnglish isn't much of a language for swearing. When I studied Ancient Greek I was delighted to discover a single word - Rhaphanidosthai - which translates roughly as "Be thou thrust up the fundament with a radish for adultery."

Seconded. Your local County Clerk should be able to provide you with information about what they will require of you to officiate a legal marriage.

Don't know about the local regulations, but many states in the US require that a minister have a certificate or equivalent of good standing in the church. So if you don't have a FSM one yet, might be useful getting one alongside your certificate of ordination.

(Don't forget that if, for any reason, the County Clerk decides that an ordained Pastafarian minister can't officiate at weddings, Indiana is one of the states where the Universal Life Church are allowed to conduct marriages. Once you've been certified by them, you can conduct whatever manner of ceremony you wish. Worth maybe bearing in mind as a back up)

I already called the county clerk who was dumber than a bag of rocks. The county clerk said, 1) so long as you fulfill the requirements to be ordained my your chruch (FSM) it's legal2) I must be on the state official registry (no such thing exists in Indiana)and3) the clerk signing the marriage license does not make it legally binding (a patently false statement)

The Secretary of State said 1, never 2, and as long as the clerk signs it, I'm okay. Really, I'm just doing this with the best intentions for my friends who I don't want getting in trouble or with a hassle.

All said, I think I am set, I just wanted input from other people to see if anyone has sailed my course before me.

Persons authorized to solemnize marriagesSec. 1. Marriages may be solemnized by any of the following:(1) A member of the clergy of a religious organization (even if the cleric does not perform religious functions for an individual congregation), such as a minister of the gospel, a priest, a bishop, an archbishop, or a rabbi.(2) A judge.(3) A mayor, within the mayor's county.(4) A clerk or a clerk-treasurer of a city or town, within a county in which the city or town is located.(5) A clerk of the circuit court.(6) The Friends Church, in accordance with the rules of the Friends Church.(7) The German Baptists, in accordance with the rules of their society.(8) The Baha'i faith, in accordance with the rules of the Bahai faith.(9) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in accordance with the rules of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.(10) An imam of a masjid (mosque), in accordance with the rules of the religion of Islam.As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.34-1999, SEC.1.

You can read it here - then if you get bad information when you apply to solemnize a marriage, you know what the rules actually say

Cardinal Fang wrote:Seconded. Your local County Clerk should be able to provide you with information about what they will require of you to officiate a legal marriage.

Don't know about the local regulations, but many states in the US require that a minister have a certificate or equivalent of good standing in the church. So if you don't have a FSM one yet, might be useful getting one alongside your certificate of ordination.

(Don't forget that if, for any reason, the County Clerk decides that an ordained Pastafarian minister can't officiate at weddings, Indiana is one of the states where the Universal Life Church are allowed to conduct marriages. Once you've been certified by them, you can conduct whatever manner of ceremony you wish. Worth maybe bearing in mind as a back up)

But your County Clerk should definately be your first port of call

CF

(emphasis added)

The certificate of good standing does have me a bit stumped where the Church of the FSM is concerned. I don't think one is required where I live, but I've always wandered how those of us who need it would get one?

Captain Itchy Pirate

He who laughs, lasts.

"You can't argue with all the fools in the world. It is better to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not looking."--Brom, character in Eragon by Christopher Paolini

If you're worried, I would perhaps suggest getting one of the wallet ID cards (from the ordination page on the main Venganza site), as it explicitly says on it that you are an ordained minister entrusted to perform all of the duties required of the ministry. It looks like not every state requires the "good standing" thing, so again I guess it's a case of checking with the county clerk.

In the past when there have been disussions about letters of good standing, there has also been a suggestion that you could contact our prophet Bobby Henderson to request one. However this post from 2011 suggests that most country clerks seem to be happy with just the certificate.

This is where others who have performed ceremonies etc have posted suggestions, hints etc. If you perform a ceremony and would like to share anything, such as vows, homilies etc for others to read, that would be the place to do it.